A 61-year-old woman was taken to Hull Royal infirmary with non-life-threatening injuries.
Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian

A 16-year-old girl is being held on suspicion of attempted murder after a welfare officer was stabbed with a kitchen knife at a school in Scunthorpe.

The 61-year-old woman was taken to Hull Royal infirmary on Monday morning with non-life-threatening stab wounds after being attacked at Winterton community academy.

Humberside police said a student at the school had been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and was being questioned by officers.

Ch Supt Christine Wilson said: “We attended a serious incident just before 9am at Winterton community academy, and a 61-year-old woman is being treated in hospital for serious but not life-threatening injuries.

“Staff at the school and police officers responded to this isolated incident very quickly, and one person is currently in custody as a result.”

Wilson said there had been no disruption to any other children at the school and none of them had witnessed the incident. “Children at the school have not been directly affected by this,” she said.

She confirmed that the headteacher had said the weapon involved was a small kitchen knife, but said she had not seen it.

Wilson said the school was open, but parents had been given the option of taking their children home, which many had done.

The officer said: “It happened in an office in the school, so all of the rest of the children were completely safe. They were all in their separate classrooms.

“And it is, obviously, a very rare and isolated incident. I can’t think of another incident that’s happened like this in my time as a police officer. We want to reassure parents that their children were safe at all times.”

Wilson said it was “highly likely” that the knife had been brought into the school, but she could not be sure. She did not confirm details of the welfare officer’s injuries.

The school’s headteacher, Gareth Morris, said: “We are keen to reassure parents and the community that this is an isolated incident and that the school remains open. We will support our staff directly affected and will be keeping parents updated throughout the day.”

The school sent a text message to parents reassuring them that their children were safe.

“There has been a serious incident at school this morning. Please note that all pupils are safe,” it read. “We will be in touch with further details shortly. Thank you.” Police said a community support officer would be at the school for the rest of the week.

The incident will raise questions about teacher safety in schools. In 2014, Ann Maguire, a Spanish teacher, was fatally stabbed in the back by Will Cornick, 15, as she taught a class at Corpus Christi Catholic college in Leeds.

In 2015, Vincent Uzomah was stabbed in the stomach by a 14-year-old boy in a racially motivated attack in front of pupils at Dixons Kings Academy in Bradford.

The school where the incident took place is in Winterton, a small town north-east of Scunthorpe, several miles from the Humber Bridge.

Its website says the academy has “made an incredible leap forward over the past couple of years”, citing its progress in Ofsted inspections from a rating of special measures to good with outstanding features.